AceShowbiz -

"SpongeBob Squarepants" is heading to Broadway as a musical with title "The SpongeBob Musical". The musical will premiere in Chicago in the summer of 2016 before opening in New York during the 2016-2017 Broadway season.

Produced by Nickelodeon, "The SpongeBob Musical" will feature original songs written by David Bowie, John Legend, Cyndi Lauper, The Flaming Lips, They Might Be Giants, Lady Antebellum, Panic! At the Disco and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. Tina Landau will direct the project while Kyle Jarrow is writing the book.

Tina says "The SpongeBob Musical" will be different to the TV show. "We're taking our leads from the TV show but this is an original story, with an original design approach, and original songs written just for the occasion by an amazing array of songwriters," she explains, "We will present the world of Bikini Bottom and its characters in a whole new way that can only be achieved in the live medium of the theatre."

According to the director, the characters will be brought to life "through actors - not prosthetics or costumes that hide them."

Nickelodeon's president of content development and production Russell Hicks adds, "The innovation (Tina Landau) is bringing to the staging is matched with an equally fun and surprising set of original songs we've culled from a dream team of 'SpongeBob' fans who happen to be top-flight musical artists, like David Bowie, John Legend, Cyndi Lauper, Lady Antebellum and TI."

"The SpongeBob Musical" begins previews at Chicago's Oriental Theater on June 7, 2016 for a limited engagement which runs on July 3. Casting, as well as Broadway dates and timeline, will be announced later.